I’m not ashamed to admit that I have absolutely terrible desk posture — and I know I’m not alone in hunching over my keyboard and mouse like an old man at the steering wheel.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

The global workforce stands at around 3.7 billion people, and as much as 20% of that total are employed in desk-based jobs. In a recent survey of over 5,000 desk workers, 56% of respondents said they finish their workday experiencing pain or discomfort, and if we apply that figure to the entire planet, as many as 400 million people would say the same thing. Yikes.

Thankfully, there are several ways to alleviate desk-based pain, and while I’d recommend checking out our guides to the best office chairs and best standing desks if you’re struggling with neck and back discomfort, I can personally vouch for two inexpensive products that have genuinely improved my wrist pain: the Logitech Lift mouse and Wave Keys keyboard.

I’d originally planned to write about these two accessories, which I started using in May, in July (so I could say I’d tested them for a full two months), but I’m jumping the gun here because both are currently on sale for Amazon Prime Day.

In the US, the Logitech Lift is now just $56.99 (was $79.99), while the Logitech Wave Keys is $54.13 (was $69.99). In the UK, the Logitech Lift is now £45.99 (was £69.99), while the Logitech Wave Keys is just £51.99 (was £69.99). Take it from me: these are small prices to pay for accessories you will use almost every day.

Let’s start with the Lift mouse. I didn’t have a problem with traditional mice for the best part of 20 years, but at the beginning of 2026, I began to notice aching pain in my elbow and wrist after using my mouse for only a few hours. A quick Google search revealed that palm-down mice force our forearms into a twisted, unnatural position, which can lead to repetitive strain injuries (RSIs), as well as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.

I definitely have a case of the latter — I’m always resting my elbow on the arm of my chair, compressing my ulnar nerve in the process — but I sought to avoid the constant torsion of my forearm by switching to a vertical mouse, hoping that this was the cause of at least some of my wrist pain.

Vertical mice like the Logitech Lift neutralize wrist and forearm alignment, putting your hand at a 57-degree angle and in what Logitech calls a “natural handshake position.” There’s definitely a learning curve to get used to this new position. Initially, I found myself subconsciously gripping the Lift in a palm-down orientation (yes, like a normal mouse), and I struggled with a perceived lack of clicker accuracy. I also worried that it was a little too small for my hands (Logitech recommends the Lift for “small to medium hands”).

But once I learned to move with my forearm, and not bend my wrist side-to-side, the Lift became objectively more comfortable to use than my regular mouse. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s eliminated all my wrist pain — again, I still (stupidly) rest my elbow on the arm of my chair, which messes with my ulnar nerve — but I’m definitely able to work for longer periods before needing to pull up a two-minute wrist stretch routine on YouTube.

The Logitech Wave Keys keyboard is the perfect companion to the Lift mouse. It’s essentially a keyboard with a raised section (a ‘wave’) above the space bar and a width-spanning cushion for your wrists.

The idea is the same: the Wave’s design places your hands and forearms in a more natural typing position, and you can rest your wrists on a surface that’s much more comfortable than a hard desk. There’s also almost no learning curve with this accessory, since the change versus a normal keyboard is more subtle, but as such, I’d say it’s not as crucial a purchase as the Lift (so if you’re choosing between the two, go for the mouse).

Comfort aside, the Wave keyboard is genuinely satisfying to use. The keys have a nice level of feedback to them, and a nostalgic typewriter-style sound, but the keyboard as a whole is still very much built for modern wants and needs: the function keys, for instance, are customizable, and you can even create shortcuts for repetitive actions.

In other words, you can tweak the Wave keyboard to your specific working habits, and if you pair it with the Lift mouse, you’ll be working faster and more comfortably.

As a reminder, both products are on sale now in the US and UK for Prime members, and Amazon’s Prime Day sale ends at midnight on Friday, June 29, so you’ll need to move fast if you’re keen to add either to your basket. Happy shopping!

Today's best Logitech deals in the US

Today's best Logitech deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

The RAM crisis is gradually ruining PC and console gaming, with higher prices, notably with Microsoft increasing prices for its Xbox consoles. Gamers only have AI to blame, as data centers and their demand worsen memory availability.

Fortunately, OLED monitors are not in the category of hardware seeing price hikes as a result of the RAM crisis, and unsurprisingly so, since they don't require RAM.

Affordability is key, and Prime Day has opened the door to cheaper OLED monitors. A prime example is the Alienware AW3425DW OLED ultrawide available on Amazon for £589.33 (was £693.70), providing an immersive visual experience for any PC gamer, especially one upgrading from a 16:9 display.

This model is very similar to my former Alienware AW3424DWF ultrawide, but this AW3425DW model features a faster 240Hz refresh rate instead of 165Hz, and HDMI 2.1 compatibility.

There's so much to enjoy when upgrading from a regular LED display to an OLED, as it completely revitalizes the visual experience when gaming. Scenery that is supposed to be dark will indeed be entirely dark, making games like Resident Evil Requiem even more immersive with its horror.

I've still got my eye on Alienware's 5K2K display, but if you're out for something more affordable, the AW3425DW is the one to opt for.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

There's an unwritten rule that when you hit 50, you start noticing birds. First, you hear their songs, and then you start spotting them in the trees and flying overhead. They've been there your whole life, but some part of your amygdala opens up at the half-century, and then you're on your way to becoming a birder like me.

• Browse all early Prime Day deals at Amazon

And for birders, there's no better gadget than BirdBuddy Pro, which is now featured in a 44%-off sale ( now $168.00, was $299) for Amazon Prime Day. In the UK, you can drop by John Lewis, which has a £200.00 deal on the same webcam smartfeeder.

Today's best Birdbuddy deals

Back when my family gifted me a Birdbuddy (pre-Pro version), I called it my favorite gadget. Like this OG version, Birdbuddy Pro is a combo webcam and bird feeder.

The model on sale here is similar to mine in that it has a solar panel on the roof to keep the webcam charged up. The Pro version actually has two panels, one for each side of the roof. I have to say that, for as much as I love my Birdbuddy, I really wish it had two panels because every once in a while, mine gets stuck facing away from the sun for too long, and then I need to pull the webcam module and charge it indoors.

The Pro model also raises the video resolution to 2k and has a larger sensor for better photography. It can even shoot in slow motion.

The app helps you keep track of visitors, and the onboard AI automatically identifies most bird species. You can even pay a monthly subscription fee to have the system name and identify specific birds (among other perks like unlimited storage and sharing your Birdbuddy live feed with guests), so you know when Cara the Cardinal returns for more seed,

BirdBuddy Pro ships with a simple hook so you can hang it, but other accessories let you attach it to a pole or bolt it to, say, a shed. I have mine hanging from my shed and have captured (and shared) so many great images and videos of visiting cardinals (male and female), grackles, pigeons, mourning doves, blue jays, and house sparrows.

Squirrels sometimes drop in and dump most of the seed. In fact, if I had any criticisms of the device, it would be that the seed holder is too small (though the Pro enlarged it to 3.8 cups of seed, 0.3 cups more than what I get) and that there's no easy way to protect it from unwanted critters. But that's about it when it comes to any cons.

More early Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More early Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

The gaming monitor market is filled with high-quality displays that offer enough features to provide the most immersive gaming experience. OLED monitors are right at the forefront of monitors in achieving the latter, with exceptional deep black levels thanks to their high contrast ratio.

It's not all just about the panel type, though. The display resolution, refresh rate, response times, and brightness levels all play a significant part in allowing monitors to blossom, and all of those aspects also determine pricing (outside of potential market condition changes).

That's exactly where the LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B comes into play. It's a 5K2K ultrawide OLED monitor, which means its display resolution is 5120x2160, with even sharper image quality than a 4K display. It's easily one of the best gaming monitors in 2026, and is the kind of monitor that would define an 'ultimate endgame' gaming experience in terms of visuals.

Despite the obvious and eventual GPU upgrade I'll have to make when using a 5K monitor, it hasn't stopped me from keeping my eyes peeled for it, particularly whenever it receives a significant price drop.

Fortunately, it's Prime Day, which means you can find it for $1,429.69 (was $1,999.99) on Amazon in the US, and for £1,472.49 (was £1,649) in the UK. However, the competition on the horizon is enough to make you consider waiting a little while before jumping all in on the UltraGear display.

Having used the LG UltraGear 45GS95QE OLED ultrawide — which is very similar to the GX9, with the only difference being its 3440x1440 resolution — I can say that the step up in resolution would make LG's 5K2K display worth every cent, despite its high price.

With the new Alienware AW3926QW 5K2K OLED ultrawide slated for launch by the end of June, LG's top-of-the-line monitor might have its money's worth. Thanks to the AW3926QW's 39-inch display size, there's a higher pixel density at 5K2K, meaning image quality will be much sharper than what the LG GX9 has to offer.

It is an RGB stripe tandem OLED panel, which reduces text fringing and provides significantly higher and more consistent brightness compared to other OLED monitors.

Most importantly, the big takeaway is that the AW3926QW's price is rumored to be at $1,100 (around £824 / AU$1,572). That's a very generous and affordable price tag, since other monitors with the same specifications are far more expensive.

The great thing is that more details on pricing should be coming very soon, so there's a good reason to weigh the options between the two monstrous displays.

Want a weird and wonderful way to upgrade your gaming PC? Then you might want to consider the Corsair Xeneon Edge, which has had a $50 price cut from a variety of retailers, and is still in stock on Corsair's own website.

I mention that it's still in stock as Best Buy also had the same deal, but has now sold out.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

The Corsair Xeneon Edge is a slim 14.5-inch touchscreen display with a 2560 x 720 resolution, and can plug into your PC via USB-C or HDMI. It can show off various apps and widgets, and also displays important information about your PC, such as the temperatures of your components.

You can even mount it in your PC's case (Corsair make compatible cases, but you can do a bit of DIY and attach it to any case) for an eye-catching visual, and a great way to keep an eye on your PC's vitals whilst playing.

The fact that it's so versatile makes the Corsair Xeneon Edge a popular, if niche, product, and the new price (down from $249.99 to $199.99) seems to have given it a boost in popularity, so don't hang about if you're looking for a cool new way to make your PC stand out (whilst also being genuinly useful).

Today's best Corsair Xeneon Edge deal

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

Gigabyte MO32U24: Two-Minute Review

Gigabyte’s gaming monitors have been hit and miss lately, but I had high hopes for the 32-inch, 4K, 240Hz MO32U24, which uses a 4th-generation QD-OLED panel and has a new, HDR-boosting feature called HyperNits.

Is this the one?

Like Gigabyte’s other non-Aorus-branded gaming monitors, the MO32U24 has a sober design that eschews RGB and geometric flourishes for a basic-looking stem and stand. That’s no bad thing, as many buyers will want a monitor that suits gaming, multimedia and work.

It’s easy to assemble (one clip and a thumbscrew), there’s a generous amount of adjustment in every direction and the small-footprint stand will suit competitive gamers who sit right up close to the screen.

QD-OLED screens banished spidery text a generation ago and this fourth-gen version is no different. Even fine fonts look sharp and the UHD resolution means you can comfortably work with four windows or large spreadsheets all day without straining your eyes.

The screen also uses Gigabyte’s ObsidianShield coating, which ‘boosts true-black performance’ and improves scratch resistance. It has a semi-gloss finish and does an impressive job of reducing reflections.

However, I was particularly interested to see how the HyperNits brightness enhancement affected the 1,000-nit HDR performance. Gigabyte says it “intelligently enhances overall brightness… while preserving highlight details.” In reality, it makes the MO32U24’s excellent HDR a bit better.

While some details still get lost in large, bright areas, an impressive amount of detail simultaneously remains visible in highlights and shadows: bright lights (fire, lightning, candles, windows and torches) shine piercingly out of true-black backgrounds without blowing out.

This noticeably improves multimedia immersion (especially in open-world games). I also liked that I could leave it activated when working without going blind.

Meanwhile, colors are bright and saturated and transitions are smooth and noise-free. The 240Hz refresh rate and the rapid 0.03ms pixel response banish blurriness around rapidly moving objects and only god-tier pro-FPS players might complain. G-Sync prevents image tearing.

Gigabyte’s OSD is intuitive, responsive and all the usual presets and gaming features are easily accessed via a joystick button. Gigabyte’s Game Assist features include an on-screen timer and refresh rate display, on-screen crosshairs, a sniper-zoom box, green-screen night vision and flash dimming. Some are useful, but others feel gimmicky.

Potentially of more interest to FPS players is the customizable Tactical Switch button, which drops the display area to 24 or 27 inches, sets the resolution to 1440p, Full HD or HD and/or changes the aspect ratio to 4:3 or 5:4.

Beyond that, there are considerable automated OLED care options that don’t get in your way, a full set of ports (including a two-port USB hub) and two 5-watt speakers, which provide useful audio for day-to-day multimedia use (but have very little bass).

In more recent years, Asus has dominated in this space, but no longer. It has a few quirks, but the Gigabyte MO32U24 has the chops where it matters.

Gigabyte MO32U24: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? $1,000 / £800 / AU$1,499
• When is it available? The Gigabyte MO32U24 is out now
• Where can you get it? It’s available in the US, UK, Australia and other regions

The Gigabyte MO32U24 is available now in most regions. It’s a premium model, so it’s not cheap. Furthermore, the global price spread is quite wide and it sits in a crowded segment where prices for rivals and previous-gen models are changing frequently (and significantly) in sales.

This means the value proposition is hard to pin down. Nonetheless, you do get a lot of gaming monitor for your money and it’s currently one of the very best on the market.

• Value: 4 / 5

Gigabyte MO32U24: Specs

Gigabyte MO32U24: Design

• Utilitarian design with small base footprint
• Responsive and intuitive OSD controls
• Generous amount of tilt, swivel, pivot and height adjustment

Some gaming monitors have over-designed, spiky stands that take up more space than is necessary on your desk in order to make a statement — often with RGB lighting to hammer home the point.

The Gigabyte MO32U24 is more sober (unlike siblings from its Aorus sub-brand) in that its no-nonsense stem, base and bezel are relatively plain-Jane in their appearance, but are arguably better for it.

The stem easily clips onto the screen and the small-footprint base attaches to it via a single thumbscrew. You’re left with a solid stand that doesn’t wobble unless you shake the whole desk.

The whole monitor doesn’t look flashy, which will suit those who want to use it for office work in an office environment. However, esports players can still sit right up close to it with their keyboards.

I’m not quite sure what happened to the Gigabyte Control Center app. It used to be very good at adjusting all your monitor settings from the Windows desktop.

The latest version is barely functional, so you need to access settings using the joystick button at the base. Mercifully, it's intuitive and responsive and you can set up multiple (one- or two-click) shortcuts to your most commonly used features.

To its left is the off switch. To the right is the ‘Tactical Switch’ which can instantly change the display size, resolution and aspect ratio to suit esports players or activate one of the monitor’s other Game Assist features.

Those Game Assist features include multiple styles of on-screen crosshair that can be moved around the screen. These are particularly useful for games like Hardcore CoD (even though it feels like it’s close to cheating).

There’s an Eagle Eye zoom ‘sniper’ box which can magnify an area of the screen (it’s adjustable but sits in the middle by default). I’d say this really was cheating if I found it usable in any way whatsoever, but my testing found it to be little more than annoying.

There’s also Night Vision mode which changes the whole display to ‘night vision green’ for people who want to pretend they’re in real-life special forces, or something.

Flash dimming is provided to stop virtual flash-bangs combining with the high, peak brightness and burning your retinas. Not everything is available when HDR is selected, though.

You can also use Game Assist to simply show a Timer, Counter or Refresh Rate (and move this information around the screen).

The Resolution Settings can drop the screen to 27 or 24 inches to suit FPS players who sit right up close. The available resolutions range from 1440p to 1024 x 768, with aspect ratios ranging from 16:9 through 5:4 to 4:3.

Other gaming adjustments include numerous image presets that are all adjustable. There's also AI Black Equalizer, which flattens contrast to stop enemies hiding in shadows and highlights. There are also VRR and Anti-Flicker modes to smooth out motion for console players. The monitor also supports G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro to prevent image tearing.

Other features include Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture, which can make use of all four inputs (2x HDMI, DP and USB-C) plus KVM settings that let you use the same peripherals on multiple connected devices.

Also included is an extensive collection of OLED Care options that are mostly automatic and unobtrusive. You can easily check on the screen’s status, manually activate pixel cleaning cycles and select settings that automatically dim logos and static images.

Ultimately, there’s nothing notable missing and even the most demanding tinkerers should be able to easily find display settings to suit their needs.

• Design: 5 / 5

Gigabyte MO32U24: Performance

• Outstanding HDR performance
• Fine text and low-reflection coating make it great for work
• Bright, vibrant colors and contrast boost game immersion
• Fast refresh rate and pixel response time suit FPS players

The Gigabyte MO32U24 has so many settings that every type of user should be able to quickly find a combination (by choosing a single preset or manually adjusting multiple settings) that suits their needs, whether they’re gaming or working.

Office workers will warm to sharply rendered fine fonts, a low-reflection, semi-gloss coating and a resolution that affords comfortable work with four windows at once.

When it comes to multimedia, the semi-gloss screen reduces reflections without dulling the impact of the panel’s bright colors, true blacks and outstanding contrast like a matte screen would.

Its HDR performance, which is augmented with Gigabyte’s ObsidianShield coating and HyperNits brightness enhancement, is outstanding as it can simultaneously display details in very bright and very dark scenes at once. While some details can get lost in particularly large, bright areas, it's rarely a problem.

Top tip — I recommend using the Windows HDR Calibration tool (in the Microsoft Store) to set it up, but I also recommend not following its instructions entirely — don’t make the black and white boxes disappear into each other — you’ll get a much better image if you leave the two reference images visible.

The 240Hz refresh rate and fast QD-OLED pixel response time ensure that rapidly moving objects are rendered nearly pin-sharp. I’ve seen even better performance on even faster screens, but those rarely offer the all-around graphical attributes that are also available on the MO32U24.

I never expect much from built-in monitor speakers and the two 5-watt speakers didn’t challenge this view. It’s handy to have them for casual social-media video watching but don’t expect great musical fidelity or punchy bass.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Gigabyte MO32U24?

Buy the Gigabyte MO32U24 if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

Are you after something else? Check out our guide to the best monitors.

BenQ MA270S: Two-Minute Review

With Microsoft seemingly intent on turning Windows into malware, Macs are increasingly appealing. But while the Apple tax is increasingly diminishing in the consumer laptop space, it’s rife when it comes to compatible monitors.

PC-focused alternatives have different colors, pixel densities and features that rarely play well with Macs, meaning users frequently fight losing battles matching what they see on their MacBook screen with a third-party monitor. But BenQ has taken note.

There are several models in BenQ’s new specialist Mac range. Most have 4K resolutions, are 27 or 32 inches in size, have 60Hz refresh rates and offer glossy or matte finishes.

There are two outliers: the 120Hz MA320UG and this, the glossy, 5K-resolution MA270S.

Setup is simple, with the clip-on stem affixing to the base with a single thumbscrew. There’s a generous amount of adjustment (including 150mm (5.9in) height and 90° bi-directional pivot) which, unlike Apple, BenQ doesn’t charge extra for.

There’s also an unApple-like plethora of ports including two HDMI, two Thunderbolt 4 and four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (two USB-C and two USB-A), with up to 96 watts of USB-C power delivery — so one cable can connect and charge a laptop.

The USB-A ports also offer 7.5W charging. They also facilitate KVM functionality to connect multiple devices. Apple’s monitors don’t.

Once connected, BenQ’s factory-calibrated screen instantly resembled the display of the MacBook sitting next to it. Like Apple’s own monitors, the MA270S has a native 5K resolution of 5120 x 2880, giving it a much higher pixel density (218 PPI) than 27-inch, 1440p PC equivalents (~109 PPI).

By default, macOS scales the interface to look like 2560 x 1440, which keeps text crisp without making everything tiny.

The IPS screen is very impressive with near-OLED levels of color saturation and LED-backlight-derived (almost completely) true blacks. Multimedia looks good at default settings (vibrant colors, respectable contrast and minimal noise in gradients), but turning on HDR significantly improves everything: more details simultaneously show up in shadows and highlights and all transitions become smooth.

The brightest highlights can blow out (with no easy fix), though, and note that the glossy coating can turn into a black mirror when displaying dark content.

A common curse of Retina displays is their sluggish speeds and the MA270S is no different. The slow, 5ms response time marries with a 60Hz refresh rate (it actually goes up to a Spinal Tap-esque 70Hz) to smear fast-moving objects across the screen, so forget about eye-friendly, fast-and-frantic gaming.

There’s no integrated webcam, but the two 3-watt speakers (surprisingly for a monitor) have well-rounded fidelity and sound good, despite not getting loud.

Despite having a joystick button, most advanced image settings are controlled by BenQ’s impressive DisplayPilot 2 app. The customizable options can easily swap between color modes and toggle settings like Low Blue Light.

Its FocuSync settings match Mac Focus adjustments and enable you to change core monitor settings using Mac settings. You can also auto-sync different color modes with different applications.

BenQ MA270S: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? $900 / £1,000 / AU$1,699
• When is it available? It’s out now
• Where can you get it? It’s available in the US, UK, Australia and other regions

While it’s not a cheap monitor, the BenQ MA270S is significantly cheaper than Apple’s own Studio displays and, therefore, serves as a much-needed, more affordable, third-party alternative in a monopoly market.

• Value: 4 / 5

BenQ MA270S: Specs

BenQ MA270S: Design

• Simple, adjustable, three-part stand
• Impressive number of ports
• No built-in webcam

Apple users have always been an aesthetically appreciative bunch, and so they’ll warm to the color scheme of the BenQ MA270S, which apes that of a standard silver MacBook.

The stand is simple to assemble and offers a generous amount of movement in every direction. It's remarkable that Apple charges more for a feature like this — it’s standard on many PC displays.

The multiple ports (which offer different degrees of charging power) mean multiple devices can be simultaneously connected. Furthermore, a single keyboard and mouse can be shared across them using KVM functionality — unholy magic in the eyes of some Apple users.

The joystick button at the base of the screen only provides access to brightness, volume and input selections. To access more comprehensive settings, you’ll need the BenQ DisplayPilot 2 app and the OSD handily provides a QR code to locate it on BenQ’s own website (it’s not in the App Store).

It provides access to basic brightness settings, eye comfort and HDR, but also FocuSync settings on your Mac.

Another feature is the rubberized pad on the base of the stand. It provides slightly superior softness and friction compared to the plastic stand, so you may be more tempted to rest your phone on it.

The only element that some users might miss is a built-in webcam. Apple’s own monitors have them, but purchasers of the BenQ MA270S will have to buy a separate unit or use the one in their MacBook.

• Design: 4 / 5

BenQ MA270S: Performance

• Bright, sharp, Retina display
• Glossy finish that can become reflective
• Slow response time and refresh rate

The best thing you can say about the BenQ MA270S is that it just works. Just connecting it to your MacBook provides you with a matching image of your MacBook’s screen without having to fiddle with countless settings.

The screen displays very sharp text, colors are very bright and vibrant, and contrast is generally impressive. However, bright areas and highlights can blow out rather easily when HDR is engaged.

The big drawback is that the 70Hz refresh rate is nowhere near enough to stop the sluggish 5ms pixel response time from smearing most moving objects across the screen. As such, it’s not good for gaming.

Unusually for a monitor, the two 3-watt speakers offer well-rounded fidelity with a modicum of bass. They don’t get particularly loud, though.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Should you buy the BenQ MA270S?

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Want more options? Check out our guide to the best monitors for MacBook Pro.